Hidden gems
Locally cultivated Instagram hub makes big splash with focus on smaller, lesser-known photography accounts
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2018 (3062 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Gerardo Chavez is the founder of Visual Ambassadors, which is an Instagram hub that has amassed a following of more than 600,000 photographers from all corners of the world.
Chavez, 33, officially made the move to Winnipeg in March 2017 from Aguascalientes, Mexico, after attending the University of Winnipeg a few years earlier.
The Instagram site (@VisualAmbassadors) features a new photographic ambassador at least once a day, with an emphasis on vibrant streetscapes and landscapes.
FP: How did your interest in photography and Instagram come about?
Chavez: I started taking photos in 2007 when my parents gave me a small pocket camera as a birthday present. Experimented with angles, focus, perspectives and later, when Instagram came out, I saw a very good potential as a photography platform and later as a social network.
FP: Why did you start Visual Ambassadors?
GC: I started Visual Ambassadors in December of 2015 because I wanted to showcase the Instagram gems, especially the small ones, those who usually are ignored by big hubs for not being popular. Visual Ambassadors is a community — or commonly known as an Instagram hub.
FP: You have over 600k followers. What do you attribute that success to?
GC: I attribute its worldly success due to the fact we always focused on featuring small accounts and being inclusive, not exclusive. Inclusion is the key. There are lots of hubs on Instagram, although I believe VA is in the top ten in North America.
FP: What’s next for you and VA?
GC: I’m still doing what I like and that is taking photos, as long as the weather allows it of course, and editing them. I really enjoy it and I dedicate a good chunk of my day doing that. And for VA, we (he now runs the hub with Yaroslav Blohkin (@jamakassi), who is from Krasnodar, Russia) will continue working hard on showcasing the hidden gems and become bigger and better.
